Omega's Rebirth-Chapter 360: A Trail ()

Neveah kept her footsteps quiet as she walked through the forest, her senses tuned to pick up even the slightest fluctuation in the atmosphere.

The forest appeared to be devoid of life, perhaps it was the effect of dark magic, Neveah could not tell exactly.

Neveah knew she could not be certain of anything, when it came to dark magic, she just had to be cautious.

It was dangerous being out here in the forest alone while they were under attack and Neveah knew Menarx would be deeply worried, but she was grateful for his trust.

It could not have been easy to leave Neveah by herself at this time, but Menarx knew Neveah stood the best chance to swiftly and stealthily handle the dark fairies.

Precisely because while the dark fairies would have been well prepared to keep their location hidden from the dragons, they could not have prepared for Neveah.

Now, the forest was vast and the dark fairies seemed to have taken up a formation at different points, some closer to the camp of the second squadron and others some distance away.

Neveah was yet to determine the order of this formation, but whatever it was, it ensured that the daylight was completely banished all around the forest,

A ferocious storm also plagued the skies, making flight difficult for as far as the boundary of the human settlement.

The dark fairies had faced dragons before, if anything, they were adequately equipped in knowledge of how to limit the advantages of the beasts of Asvar.

This location was much too close to the human settlement, Neveah had sensed it while in flight.

It was no wonder the dragons could not rest easy to have the troll golem lurking about, there were too many lives at risk here.

’There will be no cause to worry for the humans yet, the dragon lords of the second squadron assigned to guard the settlement will already be alerted of the attack.’

’They will be on high alert till the danger is eradicated. All we can do is focus on ending the storm song.’ Neveah’s wolf thought to her.

’The melody seems to echo from the very forest itself, it is difficult to single out and trace a particular voice.’

’The dragons were already on the trail of the dark fairies but it does not seem like they have had much success either.’

’We caught this one by chance, can you isolate the others?’ Neveah thought to her wolf.

’The dragons encountered difficulties tracking down the troll golem as well,’

’Given their skill, I presume it is because their enemy is considerably familiar with their patterns.’

’Dragons track mostly by trails, magical energy and aura but all of these have been altered. Wolves are different Veah, we track by scent, sound and instincts...’

’And I am not just any random wolf, need I remind you that I am an Alpha King? Since when did you doubt my ability?’ Neveah’s wolf thought back to her with a scoff of indignation.

’I would not dare.’ Neveah thought to her wolf, rolling her eyes at the familiar haughty tone.

__________

Neveah surveyed the dense foliage ahead. The air was heavy with the scent of damp earth, and the shadows cast by the storm song blanketed the forest,

Casting a canopy of darkness, and shadowy patterns across the forest floor.

Neveah was grateful for night vision, the death of one of the dark fairies had done nothing to weaken the effect of the song, save for clearing Menarx and Cassian’s path to King Jian.

It had taken Neveah a short time before she narrowed down the location of the second dark fairy.

From Neveah’s assertion, there were eight dark fairies just as Cassian had suspected.

From the location of the second dark fairy and the effect range of the storm song, Neveah had a rough guess of the formation the dark fairies had taken in order to organise this attack.

There were only so many places in the forest that a dark fairy could conceal themself and the haunting tone echoed stronger in some areas more so than others.

Neveah would only be sure of her assertion if truly the second dark fairy was within this location.

The trail led Neveah to a tranquil glade, Neveah guessed it would have been a beautiful sight in the daylight, but now, it leaned more to being eerie.

Neveah relied solely on her instincts and they had led here,

That dark, repulsive aura of dark magic was slowly becoming something Neveah could recognize and it was thick in the atmosphere, accompanying that haunting tune.

Neveah was certain she was on the right trail, her gaze scoured the entire expanse but she could not pick up on any presence of life.

Neveah was not sure what she had expected, finding that first dark fairy out in the open was truly sheer luck.

For a fairy who was attuned to nature and the forest itself, trailing them was one thing but even if Neveah knew the fairy was out here somewhere, where exactly?

That was the question...

Neveah’s gaze narrowed slightly as she slowly walked deeper into the glade, keeping close to the tree lines.

The glades appeared perfectly still, everything was visible enough to Neveah’s sight and there was no fairy, Neveah could not sense one either...at least not in the way one would expect.

’She’s here Veah... somewhere, we may not sense her presence but I know it.’ Neveah’s wolf thought to her.

Neveah did not doubt her wolf, Neveah could also feel it, that the fairy was here.

There was a presence, albeit subtle, it was there. Seemingly lurking in the shadows and watching Neveah,

Neveah had no methods to pinpoint the fairy’s location and so she could only bid her time, searching and waiting for the fairy to make the first attack.

"Get down!" A voice called to Neveah.

Neveah ducked on instinct, just as a dagger whizzed over her head and embedded itself into the tree behind her.

Neveah’s eyes widened as she slowly turned around, coming face to face with a glowering dark fairy...his upper body alone was visible with the dagger embedded in his chest,

While the rest of him seemed to have merged with the tree.

"What in the world?" Neveah whispered in horror.